Brake mechanisms, as used in automotive vehicles and the like, are high production items that have been made for many, many years. The art has always tried to make the devices with fewer and fewer parts and as cheaply as possible. These efforts have gone on for many years and the advances in the art are still in this direction in order that automobiles can remain inexpensive although labor costs have sharply escalated. Past efforts have made present day brakes comprise very few parts and to simplify an already simple structure becomes increasingly more difficult. Changes which now reduce cost or improve efficiency involve subtle changes to parts, but a creativity that is as great or more than is involved in designing machinery to perform a new function.
In this perspective, it is an object of the present invention to produce an automatic adjusting strut, which is either self-contained or requires but a simple hooking onto the structure which it adjusts.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved automatic adjusting strut whose sensitivity to tolerance stack up is greatly reduced.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved automatic adjusting strut wherein the relationship between the adjusting lever and star wheel does not change during friction lining wear, and the adjusting lever is not subject to the stretch or bending of an actuating linkage that connects it to the cooperating brake structure which it adjusts.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved structure of the above type wherein the brake actuating element, as for example, a wheel cylinder, removes the brake return spring forces from the adjusting strut.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved structure of the above described type wherein the actuating lever has compliance with the carrier so that its movement is accurately defined.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved strut of the above described type that is not self destructive as can occur in some prior art devices when the automatic adjuster freezes to the shoe, or the adjusting lever freezes either to the adjuster body or shoe.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved automatic adjusting strut wherein the actuating forces on the actuating lever biases the lever against the star wheel so that it does not skip over teeth of the star wheel.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates from the following description of the preferred embodiments described with respect to the following drawings.